Infiltrate: Welton Academy
by Fews-Saunders XD
Summary: When two girls infultrate Welton Academy under the guise of boys, the Dead Poets are in for the ride of their lives. NeilXOC CharlieXOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: We don't own the Dead Poets no matter how much we wish we did. XD Enjoy!

Natalie McQuaid squirmed on the stiff wooden bench in the grand assembly hall of Welton Academy, surrounded by hundreds of young men with bright futures. Never in her whole life could she recall a chair as uncomfortable as the one she now sat in and the overbearing repressed ambiance of the ancient walls stifling the life of the people only made it worse. Somewhere behind her in the great hall a boy sneezed, jerking awake the older members of the assembly. At the podium, an old, weathered headmaster droned on in a lackluster tone like he had given this speech before, like he had stood in the same position in the same strictly pressed suit before the same bored sea of boys far too many times through far too many years.

Natalie couldn't even recall the old man's name. She leaned over to her sister, Nicole, and whispered, "What's his name again?"

"Dr. Nolan," Nicole said impatiently, dropping her tone as well as volume to sound more the part of her masculine disguise. "You know if we are going to do this right, you'd better act more interested and pay attention," She turned and stared pointedly at Dr. Nolan, who was rambling aimlessly about policies and no-nonsense.

Natalie scoffed quietly, "If we were doing this right, we would have forced our parents to come."

Mr. and Mrs. McQuaid were currently running an international business which took them to France for most, if not all, of the year. Natalie and Nicole had been in the care of their nanny Takahashi until one day, out of sheer boredom, they enrolled in the prestigious Welton Academy. To their surprise, they were accepted.

Welton Academy was indeed a prestigious boys-only school, catering to the wealthy and aspiring young men of Vermont; however, unbeknownst to the hundreds of young men around them and the ancient teachers before them, Natalie and Nicole McQuaid had, in search of higher education and more opportunities, dressed themselves like boys to infiltrate Welton Academy's high walls.

Natalie's green eyes scanned the back of the heads of the young men in front of her, all had the same haircut she now wore - thanks to a very expensive wig - and all the young men wore the same dark blazer she now sported.

Leaning forward slightly she glanced down the row. A tall young man with dark eyes and a pleasant face sat between his father and mother. He had thick dark eyebrows with a head full of thick brown hair, unlike his father who was balding and had a very stern countenance.

Suddenly, Nicole jabbed Natalie's side. Everyone in the audience was standing and she quickly stood as well, hoping no one noticed her tardy rise as the teachers and headmaster slowly departed from their seats, filed down the center aisle and up the stairs leading to the first floor. Once the elders had exited, the audience filled out one row at a time. A low murmur arose as boys greeted friends and parents rekindled old friendships.

Natalie straightened her blazer, heading straight for the door. Since her and Nicole's parents hadn't bothered to come, there wasn't any reason to stand around looking lonely and desperate, best to just check out the room assignment and pray she didn't get roomed with a perverted nerdy kid, like the red head with glasses that was talking to the bushy eyebrow guy.

Lowering their heads, Nicole and Natalie ducked through the hustle and bustle to the bulletin board beside the trophy cases at the entrance hall. Nicole ran her finger down the list, "Anderson, Cameron, Dalton. Ah here we are, McQuaid, Nathaniel and Nickolas. We are rooming in room 213."

"213? Oh, bad luck room," a haughty voice from behind them started the girls.

Nicole turned and came face to face with a young man with a pointed nose and a smirk plastered on his face. She cleared her throat, "Superstitions are for the simple-minded."

"Relax man. I was just messing with you," the boy gave Nicole a playful punch. "Hey, what's the room for Dalton, Charles?"

Nicole glanced at the paper, "211."

"Cool, we'll be neighbors. But don't call me Charles, it's Nuwanda alright?" He stuck out his hand, "And you are?"

Nicole smiled and shook Charlie's hand, keeping with her ersatz male tone as she replied, "I'm Nickolas McQuaid, Nick for short. And this is my brother, Nathan. "

Natalie smiled, also adding more depth and bravado to her voice for a masculine edge, "You want to walk with us to find our rooms?"

Charlie shook his head and took a step back, "Hell no, man. I'm not gay." He then turned on his heel and headed up the stairs.

Nicole glanced at Natalie, "Smooth. Now he thinks we're odd."

Considering the situation, Nicole couldn't blame him.

Room 213 was on the second floor of the east wing, otherwise known as the dormitory wing.

Natalie and Nicole stood at the threshold and took in their new room. It contained only the bare essentials; two iron framed beds, two oak desks, one large paneled window overlooking the autumn grounds, and a closet behind the door.

Natalie smiled as she put her hand against the off-white wall, "I guess they aren't much into interior decorating."

Nicole agreed as she dragged her suitcases to the center of the room, "I call the bed on the left." She threw her suitcase on the bed, which creaked as it sagged under the weight.

"Jeeze, what did you pack in there?" Natalie threw her own suitcase on her bed which groaned and sagged as well.

Nicole cocked an eyebrow, "I could ask you the same thing."

"Hey when you pack for two genders-"

Their bedroom door suddenly burst open and a young man with fire red hair that made his square face more prominent, freckles and a very pompous expression. He rested one arm against the doorway, "I'm Cameron, I will be your neighbor for this year."

Natalie and Nicole stared at Cameron, dumbfounded by this boy had just suddenly burst into their room without knocking.

"Cat got your tongues?"

Natalie cleared her throat and willed her voice not to sound high or squeaky, "Sorry, I'm Nate McQuaid, and this is my twin, Nick."

Cameron entered the room and straightened his tie. "Anyway, some of the guys and I are having a study group tonight. Latin. Would you two mimes care to join us?"

Natalie glanced at Nicole who answered, "Yeah, sure. That sounds good."

Cameron snapped his fingers, "Cool, see you guys later then." He turned on this perfectly polished shoe and shuffled out of the room as if he was the coolest thing ever.

Natalie pushed the door closed. "Seriously?" She dropped her bogus man-voice, "Do these guys think they can just barge in and out?"

Nicole shrugged as she pulled out her school uniforms from her suitcase and hung them in the closet, "I guess boys don't care all that much."

"Well, we need to figure out how to lock the door or something, so they don't barge in on us," Examining the door, she realized that there were in fact, no locks. "On second thought, maybe one of us could sleep in front of the door to hold it closed."

Nicole gave her sister a 'get real' look. She rearranged the remaining clothes in her suitcase then slid it under the bed. "It's probably safer to keep our feminine clothes and such under our beds."

When both girls had finished putting together their room, they ventured out into the hallway. Luckily, classes didn't begin until the next day, so Natalie and Nicole had time to roam around the halls and get familiar with some of the boys they would be going to class with.

Charlie spotted them almost immediately, "Hey McQuaids! Come say hi to some of the fellas." He put an arm around each of the girls and led them father down the hall. "This is my room here, you are free to enter whenever you'd like." He kicked the door wide with his scuffed shoe. "Yo, Knoxious."

Knox looked up from the corkboard over his desk, acknowledging his friend with a nod and smile. He was a well-mannered looking boy with light brown hair combed to the side and a shave so close, it put a baby's bottom to shame. He shot a questioning look to his friend when he saw two unfamiliar faces, "Charlie, who are those guys?"

Charlie clasped Nicole on the shoulder, "This here is Nick, and his twin brother, Nate." Charlie lowered his voice mysteriously, "They're in room 213."

"Ah, the bad luck room," Knox stuck out his hand, "I'm Knox Overstreet."

"It's nice to meet you," Nicole shook Knox's hand as firmly as she could.

"Why does everyone keep calling it 'the bad luck room'?" Natalie interrupted.

"Oh, you'll find out." Knox turned back to the corkboard, pinning up a Polaroid of a young woman with flowing blonde hair and grin plastered on her face as the sun sparkled in her blue eyes.

"Who's the girl?" Nicole asked.

Charlie groaned, "Don't get him started on_ her!_"

"Christine Knewl," Knox sighed, "She is my future wife. We'll get married on the beach with her father's blessing and all our closest friends and family. We'll live in Suburbia and have ten perfect children that look just like their mother."

Charlie smirked, "Right. And someday we will land on the moon!"

Knox glared and tossed a pillow at his friend, "You'll see, man. _Carpe diem_."

"_Carpe diem_?" Natalie asked, "Is that some kind of boy band?"

With a grin on his face, Charlie responded, "Seize the day, it's our credo. Words to live by, my friends, learn them now and you're stay at Hell-ton will be greatly enhanced."

"I thought our stay was to be enhanced by Tradition, Honor, Discipline and Excellence," Nicole rattled off the four pillars. She had only been at the school five hours and already the brainwashing was taking affect.

"Puh-lease," Charlie scoffed, "That's just a bunch of junk they put on the brochures to lure the rich suckers into their death trap. Travesty," Knox joined in as Charlie chanted, "Horror, Decadence, Excrement. Now that is the true life of this place, fellas."

"Did I hear someone say 'Excrement'?" A cheery voice came from behind the girls as two young men entered the room.

Charlie smirked, "And how was your summer, Neil? Your old man make you take more summer classes?"

Of the two boys that had just entered, Neil was taller with thicker eyebrows. Natalie recognized him as the boy who was sitting down the pew from her and Nicole during the opening ceremony. "Indeed he did. He figures maybe I'll just get so overwhelmed I won't even think about trying out for the play again this year, but boy is he wrong." He glanced at Natalie and Nicole who were standing timidly to the side. "Oh I'm sorry, my name is Neil Perry, and this is Todd Anderson."

Blushing and praying that Neil couldn't hear her heart thundering in her chest she shook his hand. Her voice came out shrill when she tried to introduce herself. Clearing her throat to recompose herself she tried again, "I'm Nate McQuaid. This is my twin brother, Nick."

Neil looked back and forth between the girls, "You two don't really look like twins."

Nicole spoke up, "Fraternal."

Natalie nodded, "Exactly."

"Ah," Neil smiled. The girls found it contagious and they smiled right back. "I see."

Nicole looked pass Neil to Todd, "Todd right?"

Todd looked up with a look of dread at being spoken to. Surprisingly, the clock began to chime. Charlie jumped up and shouted, "Lunch time!" The boys simultaneously rushed out the door.

Natalie smiled at Nicole, "Well, I think we're going to fit right in. This is going to be easier than we thought I'm sure."

Nicole frowned, "Don't get so cocky. What about showering?"

"_Psh_. We'll just wait until they're all asleep, or get up extra early. No biggie." Natalie led Nicole out of the room and shut the door behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: We don't own the Dead Poets...though we wouldn't complain if we did. XD

Charlie couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something off about Nate and Nick. He especially noticed it when Nate met Neil and that stupid grin spread across his face. As they sat in the dining hall, Charlie narrowed his eyes as he watched the McQuaids down the table carefully eating their lunch. They seemed cautious as they sipped their soup and ate their sandwiches; it was almost feminine the way they wiped their mouths after every bite and placed their napkins just so on the table next to their trays.

"Yo…Nuwanda," Knox snapped his fingers to get Charlie's attention, "You alive in there?"

Charlie snapped out of his daze, "What?"

"We're discussing the…" Knox glanced around and lowered his voice. "_Midnight study group_. We're thinking starting this Friday, you in?"

"Duh, of course," Charlie took a bite of his sandwich, glanced down the table again distracted by the strange new twins. Most of the boys had finished their lunch and were now heading out onto the grounds to enjoy the warm autumn afternoon. Nate and Nick now sat alone slowly eating their meal. Charlie continued to watch them and when they got up to dump their trays, Charlie rose as well interrupting whatever study-related topic Cameron was now talking about. "Well, it's been fun fellas, but I have to… uh…go do something. Right now." Snatching up his tray he followed Nate and Nick out of the dining hall and upstairs to the dorms. He couldn't hear their conversation, but Nate suddenly turned to the restrooms while Nick went to their room. Doing a quick eenie meanie, Charlie decided to follow Nick. Slowly, he crept down the hall and peeked through the small crack between the door and the wall.

Their room seemed normal enough. Nothing too suspicious just a sparsely decorated room with pressed sheets and a few items lying around to indicate that boys lived here, but Charlie wasn't deterred that easily. He pushed the door open and walked into the room. Nick had slipped out of his blazer, draped it carelessly on the back of his desk chair while he busied himself with his books and folders.

"Natalie, where did you put my-?" Nick jumped out of his skin when he spotted Charlie in the mirror. Charlie noted that his voice was slightly higher when talking to this Natalie and dropped an octave when he then addressed him, "What are you doing in here?"

Charlie smirked as he pushed the door closed behind him with his foot. Slipping his hands casually into his pockets, he asked, "Who is Natalie, Nickolas?"

Nick shook his head, "Natalie? Um…er…she's my imaginary friend?"

Raising his eyebrows, he stepped closer to Nick, "Right, and my best friend is the tooth fairy."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about," Nick turned his back and fussed with the blankets on his bed.

"Oh, I'm sure you do." Charlie meandered over to Nick and peeked over his shoulder. "You and Nate aren't exactly Hell-ton standard, are you?"

Nick's heart sped up to about a million miles an hour when he felt Charlie's breath on his ears and his hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, Charlie grabbed the hair at the nape of his neck and yanked the wig right off Nick's head. Nicole stared wide eyed at Charlie as her light brown curls cascaded down her shoulders.

Charlie stared right back at the girl he now faced, "Whoa." Now that Charlie gazed on the real Nickolas McQuaid, he couldn't help but notice how feminine he – well, she – really was. Her eyelashes were long, framing her bright blue eyes and casting light shadows on her smooth, creamy skin. The brown curls framed her face in a cloud of perfection.

"You shmuck!" Nicole recovered first and reached around Charlie for her wig. Instinct took over and Charlie reached out to push Nicole back only to come in contact with more evidence of the new boys unique characteristics.

"WHOA!"

Charlie and Nicole jumped back from each other, Nicole covering her chest protectively while Charlie's mouth fell to the floor and a huge grin pulled at his lips as his eyes scanned down her body, for the first time noticing the curves usually hidden by the blazer and slacks. "Y-you pervert!"

Grinning wider, Charlie held up his hands in mock surrender, "Hey, you're the one who came at me, Cupcake."

"Don't call me cupcake," Nicole snatched the wig from Charlie's grasp and placed it on her head. After fastening it in place, Nicole briskly straightened her blazer and avoided looking Charlie in the eye, "Look, don't tell anyone about us alright? We didn't come all this way just to be kicked out on the first day."

Charlie nodded, "No worries, Cupcake. I'll take your secret to the grave, or at least to graduation. Besides, I wouldn't want the prettiest thing to come to Hell-ton to disappear before I can have any fun."

Nicole rolled her eyes, turning away from Charlie to hide the blush quickly racing up her cheeks, "Whatever."

"Honest," Charlie threw an arm around Nicole's shoulders, drawing her closer to him, "You're even prettier than I am. So, Cupcake, you're not a boy, obviously," He glanced down at her chest with a grin on his face before continuing, "What's your real name?"

"Why should I tell you?" Nicole extracted herself from his arms and stood facing him, hands on hips with her head raised slightly in defiance, "That would just feed the delusion of you thinking you can 'have fun' with me."

Charlie raised his eyebrows, impressed by her spunk, "It's not a delusion. You've infiltrated a boys only academy, fooled a lot of people into thinking you're a man and you've got the cutest defiant stance I've ever seen which means you're my kind of girl. I'm not going to let you go that easily, Cupcake."

Nicole couldn't help but smile, egging on Charlie, "Just you wait; we've got all semester long for you to fall for my charms."

He sauntered over to the door, grinning, knowing that Nicole was watching him walk away. Before he left, he turned, "One more thing, until you succumb to my will and tell me your real name, I'll be calling you Cupcake."

With that he winked and closed the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: We do not own the Dead Poets. This story is simply for fun and because we have nothing else better to do. Love, the authors of this totally awesome story.

Neil glanced down the table at the row of boys seeking to better themselves through attending the high-brow Academy until his eyes fell on the newest students, twins Nate and Nick McQuaid. Even though it was only the end of the first week of school, the two of them seemed to keep their distance from the other students, "Hey, guys," Neil turned to his gaggle of friends all eating their supper around him, "Maybe we should invite the twins to the meeting tonight."

Cameron nearly dropped his spoon, "More people? Are you crazy Neil? The more people we have the more likely we are to get caught!"

The boys shushed Cameron as his voice steadily rose over the low murmur of the dining hall.

"I'm all for that," Charlie's mischievous grin made Neil cock an eyebrow. All week long, Charlie had been acting funny, grinning like a moron whenever Nick came around like he had some secret he wasn't telling. Actually, now that Neil thought about it, Charlie was the only person he had seen Nick talking to other then his brother.

"Who are the twins?" Stephen Meeks asked, being the only one of the group that hadn't met the new kids.

Knox motioned down the table, indicating Nate and Nick. They sat slightly apart from the rest of the boys, so they were easy to spot, "Nate and Nick. They are rooming right next to me and Charlie."

"Ah, the bad luck room," Meeks pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. "Well, I'm up for adding more to the group. Pittsie? "

Gerald Pitts shook his head, "I don't know. I'm afraid I will have to agree with Cameron. We can't just add new members willy-nilly."

"Let's put it to a vote," Neil glanced around. "Those who are in favor of inviting the McQuaids take a bite of your chicken now."

Knox, Charlie, Neil, and Meeks all bit into the chicken.

"Those not in favor, sip your soup."

Cameron practically guzzled all of his soup right then while Pitts merely swallowed a spoon full. Todd glanced around, unsure of which side to take.

"Either way, you're out voted Cameron," Charlie mocked.

"I'll just invite them to sit with us for starters, that way we get more comfortable with them and Cameron can stop worrying," Neil stood up, careful to not cause too big a scene and catch the headmaster's eye.

Reaching the twins, Neil squeezed in between them, "Hey guys."

Natalie's breath caught in her throat as a warm blush colored her cheeks, "What's up, Neil?"

"There's room down on our end of the table, you guys want to come sit with us," Neil smiled invitingly.

Natalie didn't even hesitate to nod her approval, scoop up her tray and follow Neil down the aisle. The boys all slid down to make room for Natalie as she took the seat beside Neil. When Nicole reached them, Charlie shoved Meeks further down the bench and motioned for her to have a seat.

"Here, Nick," Charlie grinned, "Sit by me."

Nicole glanced around the table, nervously looking for any sign that Charlie had spilled the beans. No one even blinked as she sat down. For now at least, it looked like Charlie had kept his mouth shut.

"So, homework is starting to pile up," Cameron pointed out, "You guys want to join our study group? Between the seven of us, we pretty much cover all the subjects so if you're struggling with anything-" He let the sentence fall, waiting to see if the twins offered up anything.

Nate laughed sheepishly, "Well, I'm not the best at Latin."

"No problem," Meeks piped up, "I can help you with that."

"He can also help with English, Trig, History," Charlie added, causing all the boys to laugh. "He's the brains of this group, without him, we'd all crash and burn."

"So, listen," Neil addressed the twins as the others leaned in, casting a secretive mood around the table, "We're having a meeting tonight, off campus, sort of a Lord of the Flies kind of thing, you guys want in?"

Immediately, Natalie nodded, "Sure, I'm in."

Nicole was more guarded, "What sort of meeting? You don't go out killing wild hogs for fun do you?"

"There's an idea!" Charlie grinned.

Neil ignored Charlie, "No, no, nothing _that_ Lord of the Flies. It's a poetry club inspired by Mr. Keating."

"We go out to the old Indian cave beyond the stream and suck the marrow out of life," Charlie added, his trademark mischievous grin spreading across his lips as he winked at Nicole.

Nicole ignored Charlie's wink, "Alright, sounds fun."

"Excellent," Neil finished off his chicken. "We have our first meeting this Friday. We'll induct you into the group."

Cameron stood up suddenly giving the rest of the boys a disapproving look, "I have homework to do. You guys should focus on yours, too."

The boys protested as he turned and stomped out of the dining hall.

"What's up his butt?" Natalie asked.

Neil began, "Just ignore him, Cameron is somewhat of a-"

"Stickler for homework," Charlie finished. "But don't worry, he'll accept you two. Once he figures out how…cool you two are."

Knox, Neil, Pitts and Todd gave Charlie a questioning look.

Natalie turned to Nicole and gave her a meaningful look. Nicole shifted uncomfortably in response.

"Guys can you excuse my brother and me we have to have a little…chat," Natalie stood and pulled Nicole behind her into the hallway. Before speaking in her normal voice, Natalie glanced up and down the hall to make sure they were alone, "What is Charlie doing? Does he know something he shouldn't know?"

Nicole shifted from side to side, "Umm…maybe."

Natalie's mouth dropped. "You told him?"

"No, no! Are you kidding I would die before I told _him._"

"Then how did he…?"

Nicole bit her lower lip, "He sort of pulled my wig off and groped me."

Natalie's eyes grew wide, "Groped you? He actually groped you?"

"That part was an accident," Nicole lowered her voice when two students walked by.

Natalie shook her head, "Great. Now he's going to tell everyone."

"No, he gave me his word," Nicole looked into Natalie's eyes to show she was serious. "Charlie promised that he wouldn't tell a soul."

Charlie paced around his tiny room, taking two steps, turning, two more, turn, two. He couldn't stop thinking about that moment, when the wig came off and the long curls flowed free. It was driving him crazy! All week he had found every moment he could to corner Nick but he still hadn't been able to find out her real name. And tonight, they would all be embarking into the forest to go to the Indian cave. He'd have to plan some way, some way to get her to. By the end of the night, he wanted, no he needed to know her name.

"Quit pacing!" Knox snapped, looking up from his homework, "You're making me dizzy. What's up with you anyway? You've been acting weird all week."

Annoyed, Charlie plopped down on his bed, "Nothing, I'm just thinking."

"Jeeze it must be something serious, you just about wore down the hardwood," Knox turned in his seat to face Charlie.

Charlie ran his fingers through his hair then down his face sighing as he did so, "Alright, but you can't tell anybody."

Knox nodded, "Dead poets honor."

Before saying anything further, Charlie stood and shut the door. Whirling around he began, "Knox, Nick is not who we think he is."

"What?" Knox leaned closer to Charlie.

"Nick is really a girl. I know it. I tore her wig off," Charlie's eyes sparkled when he recalled the moment for the hundredth time that night.

Knox shook his head, "Charlie, I think you're a little confused."

"Oh, come on, Knoxious. I listen to you brag about your girlfriend," Charlie stood up defensively.

"Yeah, well, my girlfriend isn't made up, nor is she a boy," Knox stood as well. "I'm sure whatever you're feeling, whatever this is, there's a pill or something for it. Just take a deep breath, stop lying to yourself and get help." Knox reached out to pat his friend's shoulder awkwardly, "We'll get through this, man."

With a disgusted scoff, Charlie knocked his hand away, "There's nothing wrong with me, Knoxious! I swear, I saw her, I-I-" Grunting in frustration, Charlie grabbed Knox by the shoulders and shook him, "Nick's a girl. She has long, flowing hair and these wonderful breasts."

"Breasts?" Knox gapped.

"Yeah," Charlie confirmed, "I felt them."

"Charlie!"

"What? It wasn't on purpose!"

Knox took a deep breath, backing away and running a hand through his hair, "You're serious?"

"Yeah."

"A girl?"

"Yeah!"

"But, why would she be here?" Knox asked, "Why Welton? Is she insane or something?"

"No way, man," Charlie defended, "She's perfectly sane. I haven't gotten her to tell me anything yet, I don't think she trusts me, but I'm working on her."

Knox chuckled, "Gee, I wonder why."

Charlie flopped facedown onto his bed, "Someday soon. You'll see!"

Knox rolled his eyes and continued with his homework.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: We don't own any of the dead poets, just Natalie and Nicole.

**Chapter Four**

The full moon rose slowly over Welton Academy lake; its reflection shattered by the wind skimming the top of the water. Owls hooted in the distant wood, and the old stone clock tower chimed eleven-thirty. Welton Academy was still; all the teachers were tucked in their beds, dentures safely beside them in a glass on their nightstands. The students were finally settling down for the night, a few still studying under their covers with a flashlight as others fell fast asleep, free in their own dreams.

The hallway was empty as Natalie tiptoed from the shower room, her wet hair wrapped in a towel on top of her head. As she passed room two-eleven, a sudden loud sound startled her. Pausing for just a second, she clutched her heart and took a deep breath. The loud sound came again, and she put her ear to the door. Shaking her head she giggled to herself and crept quickly to her and Nicole's room, shut the door before laughing quietly to herself.

Nicole looked up from her desk, "What's so funny?"

Natalie threw her uniform into her closet and shook the towel off her head before responding, "Someone next door snores really loud."

"Is that what that noise is?"

Taking a brush from her suitcase, Natalie began to brush her short straight hair, "Oh yeah. It nearly scared me to death when I passed by. I bet it's Charlie, he seems the kind that would snore like that."

"What? Charlie wouldn't do that!" Nicole dropped her pencil and turned in her seat.

Putting her brush down, Natalie cocked an eyebrow. "A little touchy, aren't we?"

Nicole blushed, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Just because he groped you doesn't mean you have to have feelings for him."

Nicole stuttered and turned an even deeper shade of red, "I-I-I-I-!"

Waving dismissively, Natalie turned her back to her sister, "Sure, whatever. You're in love with a snorer." She dropped her uniform into the closet by the door and dismissively tossed her wig onto the night stand, where Nicole's also lay.

Quickly wanting to change the subject, Nicole asked, "Wasn't there supposed to be a meeting or something tonight?"

As Natalie crawled under the covers and clicked off the lamp beside her bed, she replied, "Oh yeah. Guess not, Neil never said anything about it." Nicole nodded, climbing into her bed. "Good night."

Nicole's light clicked out as Natalie shifted deeper into her covers. Just as Natalie was about to drift off to sleep, the snoring next door ceased and silence filled the room. A soft metallic click sounded through the darkness. Unsure if it was her mind playing tricks on her, she started to open one eye when a hand suddenly covered her mouth.

"Shhhh," Neil's voice whispered into her ear. "It's just me. Don't make any noise or we'll get into trouble."

Nodding and glancing around in the darkness, she was able to catch a quick glimpse at three hooded figures standing over her bed before a hood was placed over her head and she was yanked out of bed. A hand was placed on the small of her back, guiding her out into the hallway. She could hear several people around her, shuffling in the darkness. It was easy to guess who they were: the Dead Poets as Natalie and Nicole had learned they called themselves.

"Stair." Neil's whisper sounded behind her and she felt the hand leave her back in order to take her elbow. Knowing it was Neil leading her along, her heart sped up and her palms grew sweaty. She hoped he couldn't hear breath catching in her throat – he might think Nate was a little special.

Natalie suddenly stopped in her tracks, one foot hovering over the step below her.

"What's the hold up?" Charlie's annoyed voice came from behind and just above her.

"Nate?" Neil's whisper came next.

"I-I need," Natalie searched her brain for a good excuse as to why she needed to return to the room. She couldn't very well tell them that she needed to go back for her wig so that they wouldn't find out she was really a she and not a he. "I need my inhaler."

"Asthmatic," Charlie's mumble was so soft she barely heard it before he continued, "We gotcha covered. Keep going."

"But-" Natalie began but had to hurry along as she felt Neil tug her forward. Falling silent, Natalie worried about what to do once the hoods came off and she came face to face with her friends as Natalie instead of Nate. The scenario played over and over in her head: the horrified look on Meeks' face, the wide-eyed stare from Todd, and the worst part, the disgust plastered on Neil's beautiful face. Charlie would be the only one not surprised, but he didn't matter. It was not supposed to go like this. They'd be kicked out of Welton before sunrise.

Natalie was so caught up in her thoughts that when Neil came to a stop, she collided with him and nearly fell over.  
"Careful," Neil's voice broke the silence. "We're here."

Charlie's voice popped up just to her left, "Why don't you guys go inside, get settled and we can start the initiation."

"Why don't we all go in at once?" A new voice joined in causing Natalie to cock an eyebrow. It sounded vaguely like Cameron, though she couldn't imagine him breaking the rules like this.

"Where's the fun in that?" Charlie's voice bit back. "You guys go in and we can have the new guys parade around like a bunch of pledges."

Cameron mumbled unintelligibly but Natalie could hear the boys' receding footsteps as they disappeared heaven knew where; she'd find out soon enough. When the sounds died down, Natalie thought for a moment she had been left to fend for herself until Charlie's voice came from before her.

"Ok, ladies, you may now take off your hoods. Don't worry about anyone seeing your little secret, I'm the only one out here."

Natalie removed the hood and had to blink several times before her eyes adjusted and focused. Charlie stood before her, Nicole at her side and they stood at the entrance to a cave nestled in the trees and underbrush. The full moon peeked through the leaves as their only light. Charlie held out his hand to Natalie, her wig in his grasp.

"Thank you," She mumbled.

"No problem," Charlie smirked. "You ladies are lucky I noticed them on the bedside table or else the cat would be out of the bag."

Nicole gave Charlie an expectant look, "Where's mine?"

Charlie sighed, his gaze following the curl of Nicole's long hair fall over her shoulders, "As much as it would be a shame to cover your gorgeous locks, I didn't forget yours." He held out her wig and watched as she quickly pulled up her hair and tucked it away under the ersatz hair.

Natalie rolled her eyes, secretly wishing Neil would watch her that way.

"You guys coming in or what?" Pitts' voice echoed from the cave.

Charlie winked at the girls then entered the cave, "Gentlemen, I, Nuwanda, hereby introduce our two new pledges, Nathaniel McQuaid, and Nickolas McQuaid." He stepped aside as the boys began to clap and cheer when Natalie and Nicole entered.

Natalie smiled and waved as the boys shined their flashlights into her face. Charlie yelled at Meeks to slide over so there would be room for him and Nick to sit. Natalie took the opportunity of the chaos to make her way to the back of the cave where Neil and Todd sat. She smiled and sat on a rock between them.

"How ya doin'?" She asked.

Todd merely nodded as Neil smiled and said fine before he excused himself to stand before the group. "Welcome Dead Poets, I will now recite the traditional opening passage by fellow Poet, Thoreau. 'I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.'"

After a minute of silence, Neil closed the tattered poetry book, "Alright, now for the initiation portion of our meeting."

Charlie snickered, "Assume the position pledges."

The other boys giggled while Cameron looked disapproving.

"No, this isn't a college fraternity, this is the Dead Poets Society. We have a little more class than that," Neil turned to Natalie first. "Nate, since you're asthmatic your initiation ritual is to act out a poem."

Natalie stood and took the book from Neil's outstretched hands. He must have noticed her nervous glance, because he smiled and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Go ahead, man."

She was thankful the cave was dark enough to hide her blush, until Meek's shined his flashlight on her face. Glancing down at the book, she flipped to a random page and read, "'To A Skylark' by William Wordsworth."

"_UP with me! Up with me into _the_ clouds!_  
_For thy song, Lark, is strong;_  
_Up with me, up with me into _the_ clouds!_  
_Singing, singing,_  
_With clouds and sky about _the_e ringing,_  
_Lift me, guide me till I find_  
_That spot which seems so to thy mind!"_

The poets clapped and cheered as Natalie took a bow. Todd spoke up, "Your voice kinda sounds funny when you read poetry."

Natalie snapped back upright, "Shut up." She forced her voice to sound deeper than normal, but it cracked at the end and all the boys laughed.

Neil clapped and cheered, "You know you're really good at acting that poem out."

"Oh, thanks," She rubbed the back of her head embarrassingly.

"Tryouts for the next play at Henely Hall are tomorrow afternoon, you should come with me and audition." Neil's brown eyes sparkled as he spoke about it.

Natalie nodded excitedly and her voice came out a little too high, "Yes! That would be exciting!"

Distracted by the sudden girl-y voice, everyone stopped clapping and stared at her.

"Whoa," Pitts breathed.

"What was that?" Todd asked.

"Erm," Natalie cleared her throat. "It's the asthma."

Cameron spoke up, "I have asthma too, and it doesn't affect my voice like that."

"Okay okay, my turn." Nicole jumped up and took the book from Natalie and a lit pipe from Charlie. She took a drag and promptly began coughing.

**Author's Note: thanks to all the fans out there that have R&R-ed our story! Fews is sad that no one has said Natalie is a favorite XD don't worry, though, she will have bigger and better scenes coming up! **


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: We don't own any of the dead poets (if only!), just Natalie and Nicole.

**Chapter Five**

The next morning, Natalie and Nicole exited a small restaurant near Henely Hall dressed as their normal girl selves. Shaking her head so her hair flew in all directions, Natalie exclaimed, "It's so nice to have the wind blowing through my hair once more!"

"You're telling me," Nicole also let her curls down in the wind.

"Charlie would die if he saw you now," Natalie nudged Nicole teasingly.

Nicole rolled her eyes, "I'm so sure. Come on or you'll be late for your try-outs."

Together they walked another block to Henely Hall. Entering the lobby, they followed the signs to a man sitting at a desk looking rather bored.

Natalie approached him and said enthusiastically, "Hi. I'm here to audition."

The man grunted and pointed to the door on the left, "Juliet line is here." The line extended all the way out of the auditorium into the hall they were now in.

Natalie nodded her thanks and stood at the back of the eternally long line.

Nicole motioned to a line coming out of the door to the right, "That must be the Romeo line."

Natalie examined each of the boys that stood across from them. Suddenly Neil came through the front doors, waved to the man behind the desk and took a place at the end of the Romeo line. He greeted a few of the boys already in line as if they were old friends. When he glanced in her general direction, she quickly looked away.

Nicole poked Natalie, "Don't look now, but Neil's here, and he's looking right this way."

Natalie nodded, but tried not to glance his way. Slowing the lines moved and Natalie found herself on the stage.

The director was a squat old woman, with tight curly hair and horn rimmed glasses that dangled around her fat neck on a red beady string. "Alrighty, Dear. You're trying out for Juliet, so let's have a Romeo up here right now." She snapped her fingers demandingly.

Neil raced up the stairs and stood next to Natalie, "Romeo is here, Ma'am." Then turning to Natalie he introduced himself, "I'm Neil Perry."

Natalie's heart sped up, "Yeah I know."

"You do?"

"Ah…er I mean," Natalie rubbed her hands together nervously. "I-I saw you in the last play. Um…Hamlet, I believe it was."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream actually."

"Right. That's what I meant," Natalie finished lamely.

The director clapped her hands for attention , "Okay you two, I want to see the death scene!" She waved her hands dramatically. "Let us begin!"

Natalie's breath sped up, suddenly the auditorium whirled around her and Neil's face blurred before everything went dark.

Nicole gasped from her seat in the fourth row when Natalie collapsed on stage. Neil began his lines and kneeled next to Natalie, exclaiming his distraught for his fallen lover. Then he pretended to drink the vile of poison before collapsing beside Natalie.

The director waited for about four seconds before prodding Natalie, who sat up glancing around as if she were confused, then she saw Neil beside her.

"Oh Romeo!" She crawled beside him then glanced at the director for more direction.

"Go on," She encouraged. "Finish the scene."

Natalie sighed, then leaned down to kiss Neil. The director gasped, other Juliet's gasped, the Romeo's still in line gasped, Nicole gasped from her seat. Natalie sat up and exclaimed her dismay that the poison from his lips didn't work. She took an invisible dagger from his side.

"Oh happy dagger," She exclaimed before punching herself in the chest and falling by her love.

The auditorium was silent.

All at once, tremendous applause filled the auditorium and the director sprang to her feet, "Magnificent! Magnificent! Never in all my years have I seen such brilliant acting!"

Natalie and Neil stood, grinning at the director's high appraisal, "I'll see you both at practice next week."

Neil turned to Natalie, offering his hand in congratulations, "You were amazing. I look forward to working with you."

"You too," Natalie breathed, a blush rushing up her cheeks and her heart racing. They had wondered off the stage and ended up in the aisle between rows of seats. Nicole came rushing up to congratulate them.

"Geez, you guys were amazing!" She exclaimed, "For a moment, Natalie, I thought you were out of it, but then you just popped up completely Juliet."

"Nicole," Natalie gestured to Neil, "This is Neil Perry, he'll be playing Romeo."

"Nice to meet you," Nicole grinned, a knowing look in her eye that made Neil think he'd met the girls before.

"Yo Neil!" Charlie came up behind Neil and threw an arm around his shoulder. "That was awesome, man! Best performance ever!"

Knox, Meeks, and Pitts crowed around Neil all shouting their congratulations and good jobs, pushing the girls into the background. Natalie glared, peeved at having her first real time with Neil interrupted.

"Thanks guys," Neil managed to squirm from Charlie's grip before motioning to Natalie. "This is Natalie, she will be playing Juliet."

"Of course," Charlie smiled charmingly, but then focused his attention to Nicole, a wide grin spreading on his face. Nicole knew that he knew who she really was, "And you are?"

Nicole groaned inwardly. She was hoping to draw out the mystery a little longer; she secretly enjoyed their flirty little game, "Nicole."

"Nicole, what a beautiful name. Such a great name, really, it's perfect," Charlie laid it on thick, practically gloating that he had finally won, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Charlie Dalton," With great pomp and circumstance, he took her hand in his and raised it to his mouth, placing a light, teasing kiss on the back of her palm.

Nicole nodded as she extracted her hand from Charlie's grip, "Yes, well. If you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to visit the powder room."

"I'll meet you outside," Natalie waved Nicole off. "I just need to get my script."

Charlie watched Nicole leave with an impish gleam in his eye. Then making a big fuss about straightening his jacket he announced, "Well, if you gentlemen will now excuse me, I too must visit the powder room." He turned and raced out of the auditorium after Nicole. He caught up to her at the drinking fountain, "So, the game is up now, Nicole. And I have come out the victor."

Nicole licked the remaining water from her lips, "What do you want, a medal?"

Charlie chuckled, "No, Cupcake. What I want is you, me, and a jumbo bucket of popcorn at next week's Saturday night flick."

Nicole tried to hide her smile, but her serious face was harder to hold around Charlie's goofy pick-up lines. "Alright," she consented.

"Perfect," Charlie grinned. "Meet me in my dorm at seven." He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, "You won't be disappointed."

Knox called to Charlie from the other end of lobby. Charlie winked then sauntered off to meet his friends.

Natalie appeared suddenly by Nicole's side hitting her playfully on the head with her script. "Wow. I've never seen you so bright red before," she teased. "Charlie must have gotten to you."

Covering her cherry cheeks, Nicole denied Natalie's accusation as they followed a crowd of aspiring actors out onto the town streets. They found a restaurant at the edge of town and used the restroom inside to quickly change into Welton Academy uniforms. All the way to the campus Natalie rehearsed her Juliet lines with Nicole brandishing her biggest smile at the thought of rehearsals with Neil. As they headed up the stairs to their dorm, Neil and Todd met them on the landing.

"Hey, Nate," Neil caught Natalie by the arm. "I didn't see you at the audition."

"Um," Natalie fumbled as she tried to regain her masculine voice and drew a blank as she racked her brain for an excuse, "I was running a little late, but I got the part of Benvolio." She held the script up proudly.

"Wow," Neil smiled. "That's great, man. We should rehearse together in the evenings. Practice doesn't start until next weekend, so we can get a head start on it."

"Yeah, especially since Romeo has a ton of lines."

Neil cocked an eyebrow, "How'd you know I got Romeo?"

"News spreads fast," Natalie backtracked and grabbed Nicole's arm. "Anyway, we have studying to do. Bye!" She raced up the stairs fast as she could with her sister in tow and didn't stop until they were safely in their dorm.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Neil watched Nate McQuaid thoughtfully all through Monday morning classes, lunch, afternoon classes and even supper. It was strange that he had gotten a part like Benvolio, even though he was late to auditions. Usually Mrs. Dieter, the director, gave late comers background characters or set design jobs. At any rate, Neil was glad to have someone to rehearse with. As they sat in his room -Neil on his bed, Nate on Todd's- practicing their lines, Neil couldn't shake the feeling that Nate was putting up an act. Literally.

"'He ran this way, and leapt this orchard wall. Good call Mercutio,'" Nate's voice suddenly cut through his thoughts.

Confused, Neil glanced at his script, "Wait, where are you at?" Without waiting for an answer he reached across and yanked Nate's scripted from his hands, and scanned the page. Ignoring Nate's protests, Neil flipped through the brand new pages. He noticed immediately, instead of highlighting Benvolio's lines, Nate's script had all the Juliet lines highlighted. Complete with notes in the margins.

Nate fell into silence.

Neil furrowed his eyebrows, "Why are all of Juliet's lines highlighted?"

Stammering, Nate seized his script back, "I-it's an old copy. Can we get on with it?"

"Sure." The feeling once again snaked into Neil's mind. What if Nate and Natalie were in fact the same person?

The door opened and Todd came into the room. He looked a little taken back when he saw Nate sitting cross-legged on his bed, but he acted as if it didn't bother him. "S-sorry guys, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Neil stood up, "No no, we were just rehearsing is all. Maybe that's enough for tonight?"

Following Neil's actions, Nate agreed and side-stepped Todd. "I need to get some homework done anyway. See you guys in the common room for study group?"

Neil and Todd nodded as Nate left the room, leaving them to gather their own books. Neil glanced at his script one more time, the odd feeling from Nate leaving him uneasy. "Hey, Todd? What do you think of the new guys?"

Todd glanced up questioningly, "What do you mean?"

With a shrug, Neil struggled to find the right words, "I don't know. Something about them just seems off, like maybe they aren't telling us everything."

"I don't know, maybe," Todd replied.

"Never mind," Neil waved his hand dismissively and headed out of the room, "It's not important."

Meeks, Cameron, Charlie, Nate and Nick were already seated around the table in the common room, various text books open before them. Meeks, of course, was helping Charlie in Latin while the others loomed over Trigonometry notes. As Neil and Todd drew closer, Nate glanced up. Neil noticed a slight reddening of Nate's cheeks before the boy turned and made a fuss of rearranging everything to make room. Cameron shot Nate an annoyed look as he tossed aside the trig book, shoved papers into a haphazard pile and brushed glitter to the floor.~

"Hey guys!" Charlie grinned having glanced up in the commotion. "Come to expand your brains? Just a fair warning, Meeks has got mine so big, it might explode all over you." He traced a wide circle in the air around himself and Meeks, "This is the splash zone so look out."

"Great, I better move then," Nick laughed from his seat beside Charlie.

No one else noticed, but Neil saw Charlie shoot a wink to Nick who grinned and looked down reminding Neil of the flirty high school girls he'd seen over the summer. Cocking an eyebrow, he busied himself with his books and tried to suppress the feeling that he'd just walked in on a couple in a romantic embrace. Something was definitely wrong with this picture and Neil was determined to figure it out.

**Author's Note: Special shout out to CorkyConlon! Thanks for all your reviews and loving our story! ~ Was a reference to her story "Golden Years" totally awesome story, highly recommend it!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Fews and Saunders do not own Dead Poets Society, we only own the McQuaid girls. And we have taken some creative liberties with the whole assigning of the extracurricular activities. So Tuff!

****Fews's first Author's note: Credit for this first scene and the funny Dick (Cameron) thing goes to me, Fews. :D ha ha! Creativeness! I am by no means the best writer ever, I actually have a hard time with words. Thank you Saunders for being the better writing half and correcting my grammar, overuse of commas, and for being awesome! And a special thanks to those who have R&R'ed we love you guys…girls? W/E. **end** **

Chapter 7

Mr. Nolan frowned across his desk at Nate and Nick McQuaid, "I noticed you two did not sign up for any extracurricular activities."

"No, Sir," they said quietly. Extracurricular activities would only increase the chance of them getting found out. It was bad enough Natalie decided to audition for the Henley Hall play, now here they were getting their extracurriculars assigned to them. Natalie prayed she wouldn't be assigned the swim team. How would she explain her need for a full bodied swimsuit?

Mr. Nolan pushed his black framed glasses farther up his nose and glanced at a roster on his desk, "Nathaniel McQuaid, you've been assigned to the chemistry club and the soccer team."

Natalie stood a little more straight, "Thank you, Sir, but I've already found an activity to occupy my time outside of class."

"Really?" Mr. Nolan cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, Sir. I've been given the part of Benvolio in this year's Henley Hall play."

Mr. Nolan's mouth turned so far down, Natalie thought it would bend right off his face. "Did you request permission to leave campus to audition for this play?"

Natalie started. That hadn't crossed her mind at all. "N-no, Sir. I thought that-"

"You thought you would break the school rules in a willy-nilly attempt to find cheap amusement?" Mr. Nolan's calm demeanor vanished. His cheeks flushed and beads of sweat dotted his balding head. "You disobeyed school rules by going off campus without permission. Every student who wishes to participate in an activity outside of the school's campus is required to have written permission from the parents as well as myself. Where is your letter of permission?"

Natalie rubbed the back of her head, adjusting the wig slightly as she did, "Letter of permission, right. Funny story, you see-."

"I don't want a funny story Mr. McQuaid, I want your letter of permission. If you do not have that, then I'm afraid I cannot allow you to continue with the play. You shall call your director and notify him or her that you will not be able to go on." Mr. Nolan removed his glasses before he retrieved a wooden ruler from the top drawer of his desk then stood and walked around to where the girls were standing. "And as for your direct disobedience to our rules, I'm afraid I have no choice. Hold out your hands."

Natalie swallowed and willed herself not to cry as she did as she was told. Nicole closed her eyes, but she still flinched whenever the smacking sound echoed off the bare office walls. When they had ceased, Nicole slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her sister. Her hands were by her side now, balled into fists. Natalie's boyish wig didn't obscure Nicole's view of her sister's green eyes that were red and shiny from tears that were being forced back.

When Mr. Nolan had finished, he stepped back behind his desk and put the ruler back into the top drawer of his desk. He straightened his official tie and cleared his throat, "Now, Nickolas McQuiad."

Nicole was afraid to speak incase her voice came out in her normal octave. Instead, she nodded.

"Your extracurricular activities are as follows: the school annual and newspaper as well as the rowing team," He placed his glasses back onto his old nose. "I trust you will do splendidly in these activities."

She could only manage a nod again and they left Mr. Nolan's office in silence. Natalie turned to go upstairs to their dorm when Nicole caught her arm and pulled her sister into a hug. They stood together for a few minutes sharing the minute feelings only sisters could understand.

Natalie was the first to pull away. She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve wincing when her wrist touched her nose.

Nicole looked worried as she asked, "What are you going to do about the play?"

Through her tears, Natalie smiled. "Just because Nate has to drop out, doesn't mean Natalie is going to."

"Nate, what happened to your hands?" Neil noticed the swelling first as Natalie sat across from him at the dinner table several hours later. The rest of the Dead Poets leaned together as they glanced at her hands with curiosity.

"Oh, I…er…sl-slammed it in the bathroom door," she tried to sound tough and manly as she gingerly rubbed the back of her right hand. "It's nothing; I can barely feel it now."

Knox could see Nate's green eyes were red from crying and while he wasn't sure he believed Charlie's tale, he couldn't help but feel sympathetic to the new guys. Especially since none of the guys really believed it was a door that caused the angered markings, "Your hand or the pain?"

Shaking his head, Cameron admired Natalie's swollen red hands, "That's nothing. My first year here, I accidentally slammed the toilet seat on my-"

"Dick," Charlie hissed from the other side of Nicole. "No one wants to hear that story!"

Cameron's ears turned pink as the Dead Poets all chuckled, "Don't call me, Dick."

"Nolan assigned us our extracurricular activities," Nicole piped up, changing the subject.

"What did you guys get?" Knox slurped his spaghetti and took a bite of his roll, his hunger now winning his attention. Beside him Todd looked rather discussed with his sloppy eating.

"School annual and newspaper and the rowing team," Nicole twirled her fork into her food, careful not to take too much and have it spill everywhere until she realized guys were not so cautious with their pasta.

Knox was bent so far forward over his plate as he shoved another mouthful of noodles into his mouth that the top of his head was visible to everyone sitting on the opposite side, "Immm ufff thfff mmmff thooo,"

Charlie tapped the top of his head, "Don't talk with your mouth full, Knoxious. It makes us nauseous." He smiled, "Heh, well whaddya know, I made a rhyme. Wouldn't it be funny if I did this all the time?"

Meeks and Pitts groaned, "Great now he'll never stop."

"Only if you call a cop," Charlie laughed and clapped his hands.

Nicole rolled her eyes at Charlie before turning to Knox, "What was it that you said?"

Knox swallowed his mouthful, "I said that I'm on the school annual too."

"Cameron should be locked up in the zoo," Charlie swallowed a spoonful of corn, shooting a disgusted look toward the red head.

Cameron's eyes narrowed, "That's enough, Charlie. Nick, I'll be on the rowing team with you."

"Now Dick's rhyming too!" Charlie cried out.

Meeks interrupted, "What did you get, Nate?"

"Chemistry and soccer team," Natalie said.

Knox paused with his fork halfway to his mouth, "I'm in soccer too, that's great!"

Cameron groaned, "I really must be dreaming."

"Can't you all just stop your rhyming?" Todd muttered.

"Shut up Todd, you'll ruin our timing!" Charlie said.

Mr. Nolan shouted, "Silence, or you all will be in detention!"

Charlie whispered to Nicole, "He just doesn't understand this complicated situation."

After dinner, Neil headed upstairs to gather his jacket and script. Then he stopped at Nate and Nick's room. The door was closed but he could hear shuffling and voices through the door. He knocked, "Hello, Nate? You ready to go to rehearsals?"

There was more frantic shuffling before the door opened. Nate stood behind the door, "Sorry, Neil I can't go."

Neil's brown eyes filled with concern, "Why not? You have a part to play."

"Because," Nate's voice dropped to a whisper. "Mr. Nolan won't let me. I don't have a signed letter of permission."

"So? Come anyway."

"Neil, I can't just-"

"What?" Smiling Neil dropped his head down to whisper, "This is what being a Dead Poet is, taking risks, doing what you love even when others stand in your way. You are a Dead Poet aren't you, Nate? _Carpe Diem_."

Natalie considered it for a moment. Either way she was going to the rehearsal. The question was, how were Nate and Natalie going to be there at the same time? Before she knew it, she and Neil were running down the hill to Welton's open gates. Her shoulder bag full of girl clothes slammed against her legs. But that didn't slow her down. The throb in her wounded hands did not deter her from throwing her fists into the air once they crossed the boundaries separating Welton from the rest of the world and letting out a triumphant YAWP!

As they entered Henley Hall, Natalie had to think quick; she needed to be Juliet rather than Benvolio but Neil was practically glued to her side. Suddenly, she grabbed her abdomen and announced she had to go to the bathroom. Neil gave her a weird look and waved her off, "Maybe the excitement is a little too much for him."

As Natalie entered the woman's restroom, she ripped off her wig and shook out her hair, taking stalk of the occupants. To her dismay all the stalls were taken and there were even some girls fussing over their hair and make-up at the large mirror over the sinks. They all turned and gave Natalie the once over, a weird look crossing all their faces when they noticed her boy's uniform. "Uh, I'm doing another play down in Frankfort," she didn't know why she felt like she had to explain. Surely these girls knew that sometimes the demands of a certain play called for cross-dressing?

"Isn't that a Welton Academy uniform?" A girl with strawberry blonde hair asked, a mascara wand in her hand, her eyes grotesquely wide.

"Er, yeah it belongs to my brother," Natalie knocked the stall door nearest to her. "Hurry, please it's an emergency."

"Just a minute," a voice responded sounding annoyed at the interruption.

"Who is your brother?" Another blonde girl asked, this one with a thick tube of lipstick poised between her fingers.

"Um…you probably don't know him," Natalie waved her question off, silently pleading with the occupied stalls to hurry and open.

"Try us," The girls crossed their arms simultaneously. "We've only been with half those guys. They're the cream of the crop, you know. Loads better than all the hicks at Ridgeway."

"Um..er…" Natalie pulled out the first name that came to her mind, "Charlie Dalton." She mentally face-palmed herself, of all the names, she had to throw out that one.

The girl's attitudes changed immediately, "Charlie Dalton! AAAHH! He's so dreamy!" They squealed and giggled together. The one with the mascara wand babbled on, "I've tried to get with him so many times but he's surprisingly hard to get. Sure, he'll flirt with everyone but he's definitely not a monogamous and doesn't get tied down to anyone."

The girls giggled even more. Even though Natalie wasn't really related to Charlie, she didn't want to be hearing all their bathroom gossip. To her relief, a stall door finally opened, the occupant giving Natalie a rude gesture before she moved and allowed her to have some privacy to change.


	8. Chapter 8

-insert useless disclaimer here, yada yada yada-

Big Important Voice-over: Stay tuned after the feature for super special awesome outtakes.

Chapter Eight

With Natalie being at rehearsals, Nicole was left alone in their small dorm room with nothing to do but rack up her nerves for her upcoming date. She had grown comfortable in her new role as one of the guys, being a girl again was going to be hard. It would also be her first real time spent with Charlie as a girl.

Oh, crap, she thought, suddenly sitting up straighter and turning from her math book to gaze at her bed, underneath which, she kept her feminine clothes. She needed to change before the date. What was she going to wear?

Pulling out the large suitcase that housed her girl clothes, she began rummaging through the contents in a panic. She had three hours before she had to meet Charlie in his room next door and she hadn't even decided what to wear or where she would change. It wasn't like she could go in her Welton uniform as a boy, then they would definitely have more pressing issues than deciding what skirt she should wear.

Several items of clothing were tossed over Nicole's shoulder to land on Natalie's bed. Nothing looked right, this shirt didn't match that skirt, knee highs or bare legged? Frustrated, Nicole groaned and threw her wig off across the room.

"Crap!" She exclaimed, her voice higher than she meant for it to be. In her wardrobe panic, she'd forgotten about her hair. A few other choice words followed as she tripped over a blouse carelessly laying on the floor.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door causing Nicole to frantically search the room for her wig while madly throwing clothes back into the suitcase. "J-just a minute," She called out, her voice deeper.

Without waiting, the door was opened and Charlie waltzed in, "I heard some very unbecoming language, is everything ok?" He stopped; his mouth fell open as he gazed around at the havoc of the room.

"Charlie!" Nicole glared at him, dropping her armful of clothes into the suitcase before rushing over to close the door, "Don't just walk in, what if I had been naked?"

A stupid grin crossed Charlie's lips as he held out an arm, keeping Nicole from getting passed him to return to her mad quest to find an outfit. "Then this scene would be a little more 'M' rated, wouldn't it?"

Nicole's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She gazed up at Charlie until their eyes locked, his reflected a deep desire behind his grin. For a few moments, they just stood there, inches away from each other, Nicole wondering what it would be like to reach out to him, to have their lips met. He had an arm out in front of her, the sleeves of his white Welton shirt rolled up to frame his muscular arms perfectly. What would it be like to be held by him, to have those arms wrap around her? Nicole's mouth went dry and she had to shake herself to keep her thoughts from going any further.

"I-I need to finish getting ready," She said, her voice barely a whisper.

Charlie's grin widened, "Sure thing." He stepped away, seemingly un-phased by their close proximity just seconds before. Casually dropping his hands into his pockets, he let Nicole pass before stepping to the door. "I'll leave you to finish. See you later, Cupcake."

As he waltzed out the door, Nicole sank to her bed, her heart still racing and her knees shaking. She'd need a miracle to get her through this date. Between Charlie and his ego and having to be a girl again – crap. Nicole still needed a place to change. She stood and hurried after Charlie, catching him in his room.

"Hey Charlie," Nicole's voice stared normal but dropped an octave when she spotted Knox lounging on his bed opposite Charlie. Clearing her throat, she started again this time with her voice deeper, "Hey Charlie, I'm going to need to head into town a little early. Can I meet you at the theater instead?"

"Sure thing, Cupcake," Charlie replied, not looking up from the magazine he held.

Knox cocked his eyebrow, "You guys are going to the movies?"

Charlie still didn't look up, "Yep, they're playing the new Werewolf movie."

"Werewolf movie?" Nicole asked her voice unsure as she glanced to Charlie, who nodded confidently.

"Of course, all the guys have to see it. It's what guys do," Charlie declared, finally raising his head to grin at Nicole.

"Oh," Nicole nodded slowly, "Right. And we're guys, so we have to see it."

Knox glanced from Charlie to Nicole, his brow furrowing. After a moment, he just shook his head and mumbled, "I don't even what to know."

Charlie winked at Nicole as she turned to leave, "Meet you at the theater at seven, then."

...

Meanwhile, the cast of the upcoming Romeo and Juliet play were having problems of their own. The stage manager had forgotten to set up a balcony, the Capulets' uniforms through some laundry mix-up had all turned pink, and Neil had finally met the real Benvolio.

"You're not Nate," Neil stared at the six foot four muscular black guy.

"No," he growled. "My name is Frank."

Tugging on the collar of his Romeo costume Neil nodded knowingly. So Nate wasn't playing Benvolio after all. Come to think of it, Nate had been in the bathroom for nearly an hour already. Something fishy was defiantly going on. Suddenly a howl of laughter distracted him, looking across the stage he saw Natalie and the girl who was cast as Juliet's nurse standing together. Juliet looked embarrassed, while the nurse was the one giving off the annoying laugh. Without much else to say to Benvolio, Neil excused himself and crossed the stage to Natalie and the nurse.

"So then I said French toast," the nurse screeched with laughter. "Get it? French toast!"

Natalie laughed more out of politeness than humor, "Yeah that's a good one."

"Excuse me, Natalie?" Neil interrupted.

The nurse and Natalie turned to face him, "Yes?"

"Um," Neil lost his train of thought as he gave Natalie a once over. The Juliet costume, although a classic red Renaissance dress, did wonders to her green eyes, and even accented her feminine curves. "The director needs us center stage for the balcony scene," Neil fibbed once the blood came back to his head.

Natalie looked relieved to have an excuse to get away from the annoying nurse. With her character accent she held her hand out for him to take, "O Romeo, lead me on!"

Neil bowed and took her hand. Just before he brought it to his lips he noticed her hands were red and scratched. Realization dawned on him as he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand that he had seen those markings before. Guiding Juliet to center stage, Neil knew that he was lead in the play with none other than Nate McQuaid. This was bound to complicate things at school, he thought as he took position and glanced up at the stunning girl at the top of the balcony.

...

When Nicole got to the theater, a line was already forming for the movie. She almost couldn't believe it when she saw _Wolfman_ advertised on the marquee above the ticket booth. It was just like Charlie to pick a horror flick so he could pull some cheesy cliché move that with most guys would have Nicole making excuses to never see the guy again. Luckily for him, Charlie wasn't most guys.

Removing her wig and shaking out her hair so it fell in tendrils around her, Nicole bypassed the line and asked the young man working the ticket booth if she could use the restroom. With a coy smile and a bat of her eyes, she was able to get in and hunt down the restrooms. There were several girls already inside, huddled around the mirrors gossiping. All the stalls were empty, so Nicole hurried passed the girls and entered a stall.

As Nicole changed, she could hear the girls talking, their voices low to avoid being heard, "That girl was wearing a Welton uniform, too."

"Yeah, she must be in the same play as Charlie Dalton's sister," Another girl added.

"Oh my gosh," the first girl's voice rose, "Do you think she knows Charlie? Maybe we could ask her. Maybe she'll set us up."

Several giggles erupted from the group and Nicole rolled her eyes as she straightened her blouse and adjusted her skirt. A pair of casual heels completed the ensemble and Nicole quietly congratulated herself for randomly picking out an outfit that actually worked. Hiding her bag behind the toilet, Nicole was ready for her date.

When she exited the stall, all the girls turned to look at her, a wild gleam in their eyes. Hesitantly, Nicole walked toward a mirror and checked her hair.

"Hi," One of the girls came to stand next to Nicole, "I couldn't help but notice you are," with a quick glance down Nicole, she corrected herself, "Were wearing a Welton Academy uniform. Are you in the play in Frankfort?"

Not sure what the girl was talking about, Nicole went along with it, "Sure. Yeah, a play."

A few of the other girls squealed. "Well, we were just wondering if you know Charlie Dalton. See, we would really think it's great if you could hook us up with him."

Nicole cocked an eyebrow, her gaze shifting from the girl before her to the others behind her. "All of you?"

The girls all nodded enthusiastically.

"Sorry," Nicole said, even though she didn't mean it. Looking at all the girls, she could feel a pang of jealousy rising in her, "I don't know Charlie Dalton."

The girls all whined as Nicole hurried out of the restroom. She couldn't believe those girls! Who did they think they were? Asking her to introduce them to Charlie. Did they ever stop to think that maybe she wanted him?

As she exited the theater, she was all set to brew over her anger towards the girls but when she spotted Charlie waiting patiently for her, his hands tucked in his pockets, the setting sun reflecting off his hair and warming his skin, she forgot all about them.

"Hey," She smiled, walking up to him.

His eyes did a slow sweep of her before he nodded his approval and held out his hand, "Shall we? I already have the tickets."

Nicole took his hand, instantly needing to calm her beating heart as sparks flew up her arm and her stomach did summersaults. Together, they entered the theater and as they passed the restrooms where the group of girls was now exiting, Nicole couldn't hold back the smile from spreading across her face.

...

Mrs. Dieter waved her arms and shouted to the cast who were lined up on the stage pretending to take their final bow, "No! No! No! All wrong! It's hideous! I can't work with this cast! It's over!" She threw her notes in the air which floated slowly down around her. "I quit! I'm done!" She turned and kicked at the papers on the floor before stomping up the aisle.

"We weren't that bad," Natalie said to Neil as the auditorium door slammed shut. "Were we?"

Neil shook his head, "She did this during Midsummer Night's Dream too. Don't worry, she'll be back."

"Well if that's it for practice I'm going home," Frank scratched his bottom. "These tights are starting to chafe." The rest of the cast murmured in agreement and slowly dispersed to the dressing rooms.

As they headed back to the dressing rooms, Neil observed Natalie out of the corner of his eye. She seemed normal enough, nothing suggested that she was twisted or disturbed mentally. She even used the girl's dressing room to change. So why was she posing as a boy at Welton? Maybe if he got her alone, she would explain fully. Quickly he changed into his school uniform and rushed to the front doors of Henley Hall to catch her before she left.

Natalie changed as quickly as she could in the hustle and bustle of the other female cast members, hoping that she could avoid Neil and change into Nate somewhere else. However, she wasn't surprised to see him already waiting for her, arms crossed tapping his foot by the front door. Maybe she could just act like nothing was amiss. Yeah. That would work. "Have a good night, Neil," she said nonchalantly.

"Wait just a minute," Neil blocked her exit with a hand on her shoulder. "Where's Nate?"

"I don't know." Lame answer, she thought. Of course he knows.

"Don't be coy." Even though they were the only ones who were out of the dressing rooms Neil leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "I know you're really Nate."

Natalie's heart sped up. Of course, if the fact that Benvolio was clearly not her didn't give it away, then the marks on her hands definitely did. I should have thought this through, she thought to herself. "I have to go," she shrugged her shoulder out of Neil's grasp and pushed the glass door open.

"Wait don't leave yet," Neil grabbed her shoulder bag meaning only to tug her back playfully, but instead the strap tore clean off the bag and the contents spilled out across the threshold. Neil gaped at the mess of clothes, make-up, and was that- yes, it was a boy's wig.

"Neil!" Natalie cried out. "What do you think you're doing?" She bent down and quickly began gathering her belongings and shoving them haphazardly into her bag.

"I-I'm sorry," Neil crouched down to help her. He picked up a tie that was red and black striped, just like his. "I didn't mean to tear your bag. Maybe if you weren't cross dressing your bag wouldn't be so heavy."

"Look you know nothing about this," Her green eyes flashed angrily as she snatched the Welton tie from Neil. "I have to go." With her bag now clenched in her arms she stood and briskly walked away.

But Neil wasn't giving up that easily. "Wait, Natalie!" He called as he chased after her.

Natalie had to give him points for being persistent, but why couldn't he just let it go? He fell into step beside her, "Just tell me why you're doing this."

"Because you broke my bag," She huffed.

"Not this," Putting his hands on her shoulder he moved in front of her and stopped. He leaned closer to look into her eyes, "Why are you dressing as a boy to go to Welton?"

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Natalie opened her mouth to respond when suddenly a person running by bumped into her. She fell forward and her lips connected with Neil's. Caught in a moment of passion, the answer to the question didn't seem important to either of them.

...

Nicole spent the whole movie with her face buried in Charlie's chest, his arm around her comfortingly as screams from women and some men around them filled the theater. She could feel his voice reverberating in his chest as he reassured her that it was ok. Occasionally, he gave her the ok to look up and she was able to watch a few scenes before the wolfman jumped on the scene and she jumped out of her skin.

Finally, sweet relief came when the credits rolled. As they exited into the lobby, Charlie threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, whispering in her ear, "I could kiss all your fears away."

Nicole grinned, "You wish." But even so, she stayed at his side and was glad he was there. It was easy to make jokes to keep from getting scared. She knew as soon as he was in his dorm and she in hers, she'd have a terrible time sleeping. Scary movies were not her strong point.

"Whaddaya say we go get some ice cream before we head back?" Charlie suggested, "If you give me more time, I could come up with a line cheesy enough to get a kiss out of you."

Laughing, Nicole agreed, "Just let me get my bag."

The bathroom was empty when Nicole pushed through the door and hurried to the stall where she left her Welton disguise. As she bent over to retrieve it, she realized it was gone.

"Crap," She frowned, moving to the next stall. Nothing behind that toilet either. Panicking now, she searched all the stalls, under the sinks, in the trash can. No bag. Crap.

She tried to keep calm as she rushed back to Charlie, "It's gone."

"What?" Charlie asked, the meaning of her words going right over his head.

"My bag!" Nicole shouted. She dropped her voice, glancing around at all the people that looked their way, "My bag, the one that had my Welton uniform in it."

Charlie shrugged, clearly not phased, "You have an extra one at school, don't you? Besides, the night's still young we wouldn't want you to don your disguise just yet. I've barely had anytime to admire your girlish figure."

Annoyed, Nicole crossed her arms over her chest, "Be serious, Charlie. I can't go back to school without it. I may have extra uniforms there, but I only have one wig. And now it's gone!"

With a sigh, Charlie placed his hands on her arms and gazed into her eyes, "It will be ok, I promise. We'll sneak you back into school tonight; tomorrow's Sunday so we'll have plenty of time to sneak back out and get you a new wig before class on Monday."

Nicole bit her lip, worry crinkling her brow, "How are we going to sneak in?"

With great gusto, Charlie produced his Welton-issue coat and wrapped it around Nicole. With his hands still clenching the lapels, he pulled her close, his lips not even an inch from hers as he whispered, "Now, we can sneak you back to school or, if you'd rather, we could hide out under the hood and have a serious make-out session."

Boy, the offer was tempting. Nicole's breath was caught in her throat as she half expected Charlie to close the gap between them. Unfortunately, she knew that curfew was closing in on them. They needed to get back to school.

"We should head back," Her voice sounded steadier than she felt.

Charlie grinned, "I love how you play hard to get." He reached around her, pulled the hood up over her head, took her hand and led her out into the night.

When they reached Welton, Charlie entered first before giving Nicole the ok. Up the stairs, down the hall, around the corner they snuck. They were almost safe when Meeks suddenly emerged from the bathroom, slamming right into Nicole.

"Sor-" Meeks froze, open-mouthed as the hood fell back and Nicole stood before him. It felt like eternity standing there in the hall, gazing at the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life. And in Welton of all places. He would have stood there forever gazing at her but a hand grabbed his shoulder and swung him around, bringing him face to face with a very annoyed looking Charlie.

"Meeks," Charlie's voice was low and threatening, "You forget what you just saw here. You tell no one, you saw nothing."

Meeks nodded slowly, what else could he do but comply? Charlie reached around him and took Nicole's hand, leading the rest of the way to her room.

"Thanks," Nicole whispered, squeezing Charlie's hand before disappearing into room two-thirteen.

Wait… Meeks thought as he watched Charlie disappear into his own dorm room.

**Outtakes:**

**A stupid grin crossed Charlie's lips as he held out an arm, keeping Nicole from getting passed him to return to her mad quest to find an outfit. "Then this Fan Fiction would be a little more 'M' rated, wouldn't it?"**

"**Charlie!" Nicole couldn't hold back her laughter, "Stop breaking the fourth wall!"**

**XD**

**Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Natalie opened her mouth to respond when suddenly a person running by bumped into her. She fell forward and her lips connected with Neil's, when she jumped back and exclaimed, "Wait! That person's bag looks just like Nicole's!"**

**Neil looked disappointed as he said, "We're supposed to be kissing right now."**

**XD**

**She tried to keep calm as she rushed back to Charlie, "It's gone."**

**"What?" Charlie asked, the meaning of her words going right over his head.**

**"My bag!" Nicole shouted. She dropped her voice, glancing around at all the people that looked their way, "My bag, the one that had my Welton uniform in it. I left it behind the toilet in the bathroom. This didn't happen to Robin Williams when he did it."**

**"Stop breaking the fourth wall," Charlie grinned, causing the production crew to burst into laughter.**

**XD**

"**Sor-" Meeks froze, open-mouthed as the hood fell back and Nicole stood before him. It felt like eternity standing there in the hall, gazing at the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life. And in Welton of all places. He would have stood there forever gazing at her but a hand grabbed his shoulder and swung him around, bringing him face to face with a very annoyed looking Charlie.**

**"Oh no you di'n't," Charlie waved his finger and bobbed his head in Meeks's face.**

**Meeks doubled over in laughter as the camera wobbled, the cameraman caught in a fit of giggles.**

**XD**

"**Sor-" Meeks froze, open-mouthed as the hood fell back and Nicole stood before him. It felt like eternity standing there in the hall, gazing at the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life. And in Welton of all places. He would have stood there forever gazing at her but a hand grabbed his shoulder and swung him around, bringing him face to face with a very annoyed looking Charlie.**

**"Meeks," Charlie's voice was low and threatening, "Now I have to kill you."**

**The director slapped his head and sighed, "We'll never get this right."**


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: We here at Fews-Saunders XD do NOT own Dead Poets Society, nor do we condemn those that do. We are but humble fan fiction writers that have nothing better to do at this point in time. :P_

Chapter Nine

"Charlie, you didn't have to come with me you know…" Nicole glanced around Ye Olde Wig Shoppe. Wigs of all colors and styles hung on the walls, on mannequins on the counters, even in the glass display case where the woman cashier with a name tag that stated her name as Veronica eyed Charlie and Nicole suspiciously.

Charlie admired a long brown haired wig, "I know, but what fun would it have been for me if you had come here alone?" He picked up the wig and ran his fingers through the long synthetic strands. "Besides who else could have snuck you out before breakfast?" Veronica coughed sharply and Charlie set the wig back on the mannequin's head.

Nicole rolled her eyes, "Sure you can sneak me out, but you can't sneak me back in."

Suddenly, Veronica approached Nicole, though she kept her green hawk eyes on Charlie, "May I help you?"

"Actually I'm looking for a boy's wig," Nicole motioned to a dark brown wig. "Maybe that color."

The woman's thin red eyebrows arched halfway up her forehead.

Charlie appeared beside Nicole, "It's for me, I'm going bald and I just couldn't stand the humiliation." He clenched his fist to his chest dramatically.

Clicking her tongue Veronica eyed Charlie's full head of dark hair, "Of course." Without another word she turned on her heel and led them to an area toward the back of the shoppe where the men's wigs were on display. She picked up a conservative looking wig and placed it on Charlie's head. "How's this?"

Nicole eyed Charlie, it wasn't the exact wig she had before, but pretty close. Maybe no one would notice? Charlie admired himself in the mirror turning every which way. "I don't like it," he stated.

The woman gave a snooty huff, "Of course." She took the wig from Charlie and walked away to find a different style.

Breakfast at Welton was awkward for Pitts. As soon as Nate (or was it Nick? Pitts couldn't really tell the difference between the twins) had entered the cafeteria Meeks perked up and watched him intently as he sat down across from Neil.

"Good morning guys," Picking up his spoon Nate took a bite of his oatmeal.

They all said their good mornings. Meeks spoke up, "Where is Nick?"

Pitts glanced at Meeks, why did he suddenly care where Nick McQuaid was? It wasn't like they were best friends. Pitts mostly just tolerated the twin brothers, kind of like how he tolerated Cameron. Actually he would rather be left alone with Cameron then with the McQuaids, they were kind of weird now that he thought about it. Nate had this weird habit of blushing when ever Neil smiled at him, and Nick seemed to hang out with Charlie when he wasn't with his brother. Charlie really wasn't one of Pitt's favorite people either.

Nate swallowed, "He has a slight fever so he probably won't be around 'til later today."

"Oh, that's too bad."

Was that a hint of disappointment in Meeks' voice? Pitts watched as Nate struck up conversation with Neil before leaning closer to Meeks, "What was that about?"

Meeks pushed his large glasses farther up his nose, "N-nothing." He was the worst liar on the planet. He blinked rapidly, his breathing became quick, and Pitts could see a hint of sweat gleam on his forehead.

"Liar," Pitts nudged his friend.

"I can't tell you," Meeks said out of the corner of his mouth so Knox, who was sitting on the other side of Meeks, wouldn't overhear. "Charlie will kill me if I said anything."

Pitts glanced over Meeks' head down the table. Nate and Neil were now in deep conversation about the play, Cameron was trying to convince Knox that he needed to participate in study group more, but he didn't see Charlie or Nick anywhere at the table. "Charlie isn't even here, Meeks."

Meeks shook his head. He could be so stubborn sometimes. Pitts sighed and turned away expecting to be left hanging. When Meeks suddenly leaned over and whispered, "Meet me in our room." He also couldn't keep a secret very long.

Pitts closed the dorm door, "Okay Meeks. What's going on?"

Meeks motioned to his bed, "You might want to sit down."

Taking his suggestion, Pitts sat on the edge of his mattress. Meeks paced around the room rubbing his hands together like he had a huge exam coming up. Pitts watched him pace around some more, "Will you sit down and tell me what's going on?"

"Okay," Meeks turned and faced Pitts. "No, I can't. Charlie will find out somehow that I told you this."

"He won't now just-," Pitts was losing his patience. "Maybe if you indirectly tell me, that wouldn't count right?"

Nodding, Meeks snapped his fingers. "Have you ever played Charades?"

"Yeah," Pitts watched Meeks hold up four fingers, then one. "Four words, first word is…"

Meeks stood with his hand on his hips.

"A person? Nick?"

Meeks nodded and held up two fingers.

"Second word."

Meeks made all sorts of gestures in the air to himself.

"You? Blazer? Shirt?"

Sighing, Meeks waved his arms in the air.

Pitts gave Meeks a weird look, "Airplane? Flying fish? Goal? You're not making any sense, dude."

"Stop guessing!" Meeks broke his silence before going over to his desk and ripping out a piece of paper and grabbing a pencil.

"Hey you're not supposed to talk!" Pitts frowned.

"Let's try Pictionary instead," Meeks sat beside Pitts and began drawing two figures similar to the signs outside of public bathrooms.

"Okay, is Nick still the first word?" Pitts stared at the paper.

"Yes now pay attention," Meeks pointed to the man figure.

Pitts brows furrowed, "Nick, boy?"

Meeks nodded then drew a big 'X' through the figure then pointed to the woman figure.

"No boy," Pitts' eyes narrowed in concentration. "Girl?"

Meeks nodded and waved his hand in a circle as if to say 'keep going'.

Realization dawned on Pitts and his brown eyes grew wide, "Nick is a girl?"

Meeks nodded and pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "I-I didn't mean to find out, but I bumped into her and her hood fell back. And she was just so beautiful." They sat together in silence for a minute. With a deer in the headlights look, Pitts' mind was totally blank. Suddenly he stood up almost like a robot.

"Wh-where are you going?"Meeks watched as Pitts walked to the door and opened it. "Pitts! Hey man! Oh no, I should have known the shock would overload his brain!" He stood and followed his friend into the hallway calling his name and snapping his fingers in his face all the way to the McQuaid 's dorm. Without knocking, Pitts opened the door and walked in with Meeks in tow behind him. "Pitts you can't just- Nate!"

Nate glanced up from his homework which was scattered across the small desk, "Hey guys…um Pitts are you-?"

Suddenly Pitts leaned forward palm out and placed it right on Nate's chest. Meeks' mouth dropped to the floor. Pitts' eyes, if it were anymore possible grew so wide his eyeballs looked like they would pop right out and land in Nate's lap. Nate's face reddened like a rare stake.

"Y-you're…" Pitts's still hadn't removed his hand.

Nate blinked then jerked out of Pitt's grasp shouting, "OW! My tumor!" He practically fell out of the chair grabbing his chest. "You grabbed my freakin' tumor!"

"Pitts, you idiot," Meeks grabbed Pitts by the shoulders and turned him around. He had to look up at his tall friend but that didn't stop him from shouting, "That's not Nick!"

Pitts glanced down at Nate on the floor still hamming it up, "B-but that's a girl too."

Meeks turned slowly and looked down at Nate who had now stopped his…her performance, "Nate?"

Nate stood up, his…her face now red not with embarrassment or shock but with a temper, "Get out!" She, definitely she, with her masculine voice gone shouted and pushed Meeks and Pitts toward the door. "And one more thing," She glared at them when they stumbled out into the hall. Meek's lost his footing and landed on the floor Pitts stumbled over Meeks and caught himself against the wall. They both turned at looked at Nate with looks of dread. "If you tell anybody, I will beat you both."

The door slammed shut and Cameron poked his head from the room next door. "Hey I heard someone shouting, what's going on?"

Pitts didn't trust himself to speak, so he just shook his head fiercely. Meeks pulled himself up and adjusted his glasses, "N-nothing."

"Who was that shouting?" Cameron stepped into the hall and glanced around. "I thought I heard a girl's voice."

"I didn't hear anything, did you Pitts?" Meeks elbowed Pitts hoping that he would catch the hint.

Pitts groaned and grabbed his stomach, "No..uh-uh..nothing."

Cameron cocked an eyebrow, "What's with you two weirdoes?"

"Nothing, let's go Pitts," Meeks grabbed Pitt's arm and led him away from Cameron. They reentered their dorm room and sat on their beds. "We defiantly can't tell Cameron, he'd fink." Meeks sighed. "But how exciting is it Pitts? There are finally girls at Hell-ton, and one of them anyway is so beautiful."

Pitts shook his head, "I don't like it Meeks. Nothing good can come of this."

Nicole and Charlie made it back safely just before the lunch bell chimed. They raced up the stairs and threw their coats into their dorms before joining the lunch crowd. Natalie did a double take when she saw her sister's new wig. "What the heck is up with your wig?"

Groaning Nicole hid her face in her hands, "Charlie picked it out for me. I knew it was too different, but he insisted I looked better with black! Does it look really bad?"

Trying to cover a grimace, Natalie patted her sister on the shoulder, "How about if we head down to lunch now?"

"I knew it!" Nicole sobbed. "It's horrible! I'm never taking Charlie shopping with me again!"

Comforting Nicole the best she could Natalie patted her on the back, "Now I know you don't mean that."

That night at study group they all sat around the table. Cameron was trying to explain to Knox the difference between a parabola and a parable, while Neil kept bumping his foot against Natalie's leg. At least she hoped it was Neil, Todd also sat across from her but he didn't seem the type to flirt let alone touch a woman in disguise. With a playful kick, Natalie knocked Neil's leg away, he responded with chuckle and a wink. Cameron looked up when Neil chuckled and frowned, "I don't see how this is funny to you Neil. Parabolas are very important here. Well so are parables but they aren't useful in this equation."

"You're right, sorry Cameron," Neil offered a sarcastic salute.

Rolling her eyes and adjusting her wig Natalie glanced over at Pitts and Meeks. They seemed to be keeping the secret, but she didn't like the way Meeks was now staring at her sister. It was weird. Pitts avoided eye contact with the two of them at all costs. That was also weird. If those two didn't chill out Natalie and Nicole would be found out for sure.

She scratched her head again; the wig was especially itchy tonight. Nicole gave her a warning glance to be careful. Natalie gave an apologetic look back. It wasn't her fault. She scratched her head again.

Knox sighed, "I'm sick of Trig. Let's switch and do some Latin."

Cameron grumbled, "You guys are hopeless. I have to get my book from my room I'll be back."

Scratching her head Natalie leaned under the table to get her Latin book from her backpack. When she had fished it out she started to sit back up, but caught her head on the edge of the table, "Ouch!"

"Are you alright?" Nicole asked.

Rubbing her head, Natalie sat up and nodded, "Fine."

"Watch out these tables are tricky," Charlie slammed his fist on the table top causing the pencils laid out to tremble.

"Hey watch it man," Knox caught his pencil as it slid across and nearly landed on the floor.

Entering the room once more, Cameron announced he was back and took his seat next to Natalie. "So we are studying lesson five this week right?"

"Four," Pitts opened his book. "I have it marked here."

"No I'm pretty sure it's five," Cameron opened his as well.

Natalie rolled her eyes and rubbed the sore spot on her head careful not to completely detach her wig, but combined with the pain and itchiness it was becoming difficult.

"No, see we learned about verbs yesterday, conjugating verbs we haven't done yet," Pitts pointed to the lesson chapter headings to prove his point.

"Fine, we'll do four then!" Cameron threw his arms wide knocking Natalie on the arm as she scratched her head.

Natalie's wig came clean off when Cameron bumped her and slid across the table landing in Todd's lap. Meeks gave a sharp snort as Todd glanced down to the matt of hair in his lap then back up to the girl across from him. Knox had noticed the wig fly across the table and was stunned to see a girl sitting at the table.

"Holy shit," he muttered. "Charlie was right."

Charlie smirked at Knox giving him an 'I told you so' look.

In a panic, Nicole pushed Natalie under the table, "Hey you dropped your pencil."

Natalie nearly avoided having her forehead meet the edge of the table this time as she crawled over the tangle of legs and snatched the wig from Todd's lap. Poor kid was too traumatized to notice. Neil covered his face with his hands and tried to laugh quietly, his shoulders shaking madly. Thankfully Cameron was too busy angrily flipping the pages in his Latin book to notice what had happened.

Resurfacing, she saw Meeks and Pitts staring at her with stupid grins, Neil wiping away tears of laughter, Todd still staring into his lap, Knox giving her a look of awe, Charlie gave her a thumbs up and Nicole looked a little pale with worry. That was so close. Clearing her throat she said, "So chapter four?"

Glancing up angrily Cameron frowned at everyone, "Yeah. No one else here knows how to pay attention in class so we are studying a chapter behind."

The rest of the guys sighed; it really was hard to pay attention when there was a girl sitting right across from you.

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since we've had an update. Fews is MIA until the spring and Saunders didn't feel right writing this without her…unfortunately for Fews, though lucky for all of you, Saunders gets impatient and, you know, when inspiration strikes, inspiration strikes and you just have to go with it. So, here's an update. ^^ Hope you like! And stay tuned to see if Saunders gets anymore flashes of inspiration in the story before Fews returns. **


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